KYLE MATTHEWS

You’ve set yourself up for success: you joined a gym near work, and it’s open 24 hours a day. So now you have no excuses, yet day after day, you find yourself exhausted by the time you leave work and never actually get to the gym. Here’s your solution: work out in the morning.

“Without a doubt, working out in the morning will help to boost your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories for the rest of the day. This phenomenon is called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC,” according to Bodybuilding.com. Wouldn’t it be nice to know you’re burning more calories as you sit at your desk because you got out of bed and got to the gym? A morning cardio or lifting session will do that. Multiply that extra calorie burning by five — or however many days you get to the gym — and the benefits add up quickly.

You’ll feel rested and ready to go at daybreak once you establish your morning workout routine because you’ll sleep better. In a study at Appalachian State University, participants exercised at 7 a.m., 1 p.m., or 7 p.m. three days per week, and sure enough, those who were doing the 7 a.m. workout sessions had the longest, deepest sleep. And evening workouts can actually have the opposite effect since vigorous exercise cues your body to releases stress hormones including adrenaline. A burst of adrenaline shortly before bed does not usually lead to a solid night of sleep.

You will accomplish a goal early in the day, and leave the gym feeling refreshed and rejuvenated because you’ve just filled your body with endorphins, a chemical which “triggers a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine,” according to Webmd. “The feeling that follows a run or workout is often described as ‘euphoric.’ That feeling, known as a ‘runner's high,’ can be accompanied by a positive and energizing outlook on life.”

Working out in the morning gives you the benefit of an energy drink — without all the sugar. Sunrise exercise not only wakes you up and helps you feel better, but one study shows it also improves mental well-being. In other words, you’ll be happier throughout the day, too!

Because after work there are family dinners and your daughter’s soccer games, or drinks out with friends, or, well, the list could go on and on. The point is that you want to stay fit and work out consistently, but you don’t want gym time to get in the way of living your life, and that’s why a morning workout makes so much sense.

​Contact us for more ideas about how to incorporate a consistent fitness routine into your busy work week!